A Jet2 flight from Liverpool John Lennon Airport to Palma de Mallorca declared an emergency and diverted to Manchester Airport on Thursday morning after a suspected bird strike.
Emergency declared
The Boeing 737-800 issued a 7700 general emergency alert at 12,875ft near Manchester, according to aviation alert service Squawk. Flightradar24 data shows the 8am flight changed direction near Shrewsbury, heading back towards Liverpool before landing safely in Manchester.
Passenger account
A passenger travelling with his wife, brother, and sister-in-law for a long weekend in Palma said they noticed something wrong immediately after takeoff. 'There was a sudden vibration and more noise than normal as soon as we took off. We felt the vibrations, we felt something,' he told the ECHO. 'It wasn't enough to alarm anyone but we noticed a change, we noticed something wasn't right.'
Around 15 minutes into the flight, the captain announced an issue. The passenger praised the crew: 'Everyone remained calm and the stewards were professional. The captain reassured everyone, Jet2 have been so good, there were lots of kids on the flight.'
Response and onward travel
The pilot said a bird strike was suspected and that the plane needed to land for checks. Jet2 arranged another flight to resume the journey to Palma around 11.25am. The ECHO has contacted Jet2 for more information.
